The PMC has been at the center of my life since 1989 when I first starting volunteering for the event. An occupational therapist by profession, I thought it would be a good idea to offer cyclists a free massage after they rode into Bourne. As anyone on the PMC staff knows, a good idea leads to a new job! So, my very first job at the PMC was to find and coordinate massage therapists to volunteer at MMA. I recruited 7 friends and we massaged more than 900 people that year. Now there are hundreds of volunteer massage therapists who give complimentary 15-minute massages to thousands of riders for eight hours at MMA.
Since then, it's been 31 wonderful years of helping to make this incredible weekend happen. On the Head Staff, I have been the MMA Coordinator, the Boston Start Coordinator and the Greater Boston Start coordinator. Now, as the PMC’s Director of Stewardship and Liaison to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, I work with riders, volunteers, staff and donors and assist with PMC Special Events and Programs, including the Check Presentation, Heavy Hitter evening and the PMC Pedal Partner Program. I also serve on the advisory board for the Leonard P. Zakim Center for Integrative Medicine and Healthy Living and the Susan F. Smith Center for Women’s Cancers Executive Council.
It is a privilege for me to work closely with the amazing staff at Dana-Farber and The Jimmy Fund. Spending time in the Jimmy Fund Clinic and meeting the families and children being treated there illustrates just how important the $717 million the PMC has raised is to the treatment and survival of cancer patients.
While cycling is definitely not my forte, I've ridden in the event twice. I'm definitely most comfortable working on the weekend instead of cycling. This year due to the Covid 19 pandemic we are all a part of PMC 2020 Reimagined. The most important role that all of us in the PMC Community can play is as fundraisers for this cause that we are so passionate about. So together we will shift gears to raise funds and continue the important and life saving work that the dedicated doctors and nurses and researchers at Dana-Farber are doing.
Being a part of the PMC is among the most rewarding parts of my life. The people who participate in the PMC make the world a better place and to me are like extended family. I feel privileged to be on the PMC staff and part of this remarkable community.
